Arguably the biggest showdown in gaming history, as Sony and Microsoft faced-off to renew their rivalry at this year’s E3 convention. The gaming giants showed off their consoles as Sony showcased the Playstation 4, and Microsoft the Xbox one.

The consoles were revealed and fan-boys on both sides are proclaiming victory, who do you think stood out as the victor?

E3 Backstage

Hardware:

PS4

• Chipset: AMD chips and eight-core CPUs
• RAM:  8GB (GDDR5)
• Graphics: GPU estimated by ExtremeTech to be on a par with the Radeon 7870
• Motion sensor: Purchase separately

Xbox One

• Chipset: AMD chips and eight-core CPUs
• RAM:  8GB (DDR3)
• Graphics: Nearer to the Radeon HD 7790
• Motion sensor: Built in Kinect 2.0

Xbox One Console

Games

PS4

Sony unveiled new franchises, including new racer Drive Club, Knack, and The Order: 1886. The expected PS favourites, Infamous and Killzone were also on display.

Xbox One

Microsoft revealed new instalments of the Halo and Forza series, as well as new title Ryse: Son of Rome and the long-awaited return of Killer Instinct

Pre-owned games

The pre-owned games debate made a fair amount of waves as Sony played their hand very well by choice of words:

PS4

Sony stated they “support used games”,that refers to first- and second-party publishers, meaning third-party titles may be different. (The same applies to the Xbox One). US CEO and President Jack Tretton replied “‘yes’ – the PS4 would be free of limitations on used games, that ‘no’ – there would be no need for online connections, and, a bonus, that ‘yes’ – the console would even be region-free (the Xbox One is not).

Xbox One

The issues such as used games and backward compatibility were mismanaged prior to the E3 launch, allowing the PS4 team the upper hand in their reply.

Price:

PS4

$399

Xbox One

$499

Playstation 4 Console

Conclusion:

Microsoft has increased their offering with the multimedia add-ons however simply keeping up with the competition doesn’t win a race. The Xbox One offers the built-in camera, however this comes with the additional cost for the unit. Sony capitalized on this by launching the PS4 without the camera technology allowing prospective customer to buy the camera at their own leisure at an estimated cost of $52. That being said it’s a trade-off that Sony was willing to take, considering the big win is the cost saving of $100 for future buyers.

The camera discussion can lead to many questions regarding the amount of games that will be developed to utilizing the technology. I know maybe two hardcore gamers that have shown interests in purchasing or even playing games that incorporate the camera technology. Regarding the “debates” if one should buy the PS4 or Xbox One, many will argue till the dead starts walking that the one is better than the other. Based on numerous responses and “facts”, the PS4 is edging ahead so far.

In my opinion the final purchase will boil down to preference. The PS4 is only due to be launched in the next 5 months, it might be a little premature to cast a final vote before any of us had a full swing and clocked enough hours on both platforms. We will have to see if the pre-order sales strategy is worth it for Sony. Both units offer plenty for your buck and hopefully through all the corporate warfare the consumer, fellow geeks and gamers will benefit.